Stable isotopomer concentration and flux measurements have become a vital underpinning technique in many areas of science. To date, mass spectrometry (MS) has been the preferred technique to perform isotope analysis. For any application requiring real time, high frequency data, and/or field measurements, MS suffers from drawbacks: tedious sample taking and preparation, difficulty of real time analysis. Furthermore, MS does not resolve small mass differences particularly well. The use of MS is confined to a dedicated laboratory and field applications are therefore difficult. There is a growing need to overcome these drawbacks and to seek alternative instrumentation for high precision (˜0.1‰) isotopic ratio determination both in the academic and industrial sectors. Applications encompass atmospheric studies, geology, ecology, medical research, planetary exploration, combustion science, fundamental analytical chemistry, and food industry quality check.
Therefore, there is requirement for a method and apparatus for providing high precision isotopomer concentration and ratio measurements without the above drawbacks.